“Tatiana realized she was tired of being a child. At the same time she didn’t know how to be anything else, so she got a job at the Kirov factory, in the south of Leningrad. That was nearly adult.”

Tatiana’s private desire to grow up establishes the novel’s theme of Developing Identity Through Adversity. Thus far in her young life, Tatiana has had few exciting experiences. She hopes the war might change her, securing a factory job and supporting the war effort to feign an adult persona. She will soon discover how drastically the global contact will transform her, ushering her into a litany of unexpected experiences.

“Whenever Tatiana thought of what she might like to be in life, she always thought of her grandfather and the dignity with which he conducted his simple existence. […] Whenever people asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she invariably said, ‘I want to be like my grandfather.’”

The third person narrator inhabits Tatiana’s consciousness in this scene, revealing her youthful sense of self. At this juncture in the novel, Tatiana still understands herself according to her family. She looks up to her grandfather and thus believes modeling her life after him would be noble. She has yet to outgrow the confines of her family life, and to discover the scope of her character. She will soon begin Developing Identity Through Adversity.

“In her bed Tatiana lay quietly and thought about Alexander. She thought about him not just telling her about his life but drowning her in it, the way he himself was drowned in it. As she listened to him, Tatiana had stopped breathing, her mouth remaining slightly open, so that Alexander could breathe his sorrow—from his words, from his own breath—into her lungs.”

The narrator’s use of figurative language enacts the intensity of Tatiana’s feelings for Alexander Belov. The reference to drowning conjures flood imagery, implying that Tatiana is submerged within Alexander’s stories and experiences. She also imagines breathing his words in, implying that she is consuming Alexander’s essence, his life becoming a part of her. The passage underscores their close bond.

“Oh, to be walking through Leningrad white night after white night, the dawn and the dusk all smelting together like platinum ore, Tatiana thought, turning away to the wall, again to the wall, to the wall, as ever. Alexander, my nights, my days, my every thought. You will fall away from me in just a while, won’t you, and I’ll be whole again, and I will go on and feel for someone else, the way everyone does. But my innocence is forever gone.”

The poetic language in this passage creates a melancholic tone of longing. Tatiana is musing on how her relationship with Alexander has changed her, while lamenting the impossibility of sharing a future. The images of the “white nights,” the “dawn,” and the “dusk” evoke the passage of time, while the concurrent wall imagery conjures notions of entrapment. Alexander offers Tatiana a life beyond the present, yet she remains literally and figuratively caught in her childhood bedroom, her face turned to the wall.

“After everyone had gone to bed, Tatiana went downstairs, got a pair of kitchen scissors, and began to mercilessly lop off her blonde hair, watching it fall in long strands into the communal sink. Afterward the small, grimy mirror showed only a vague reflection. All she saw was her sulky lips and her sad, hollow eyes […] Did she look like a boy? All the better.”

Tatiana’s decision to chop off her hair conveys her desire for autonomy. Tatiana longs to be taken seriously by her family and so plans to bring Pasha home safely herself. In cutting off her hair, she is assuming the appearance of a boy, or her more worthy twin brother. She is trying to claim her power and capability; her long blond hair represents her youthful feminine beauty, a persona she wants to discard.

“Hot and faint, she felt for them with her hands. The gunfire came from right outside the door, but when the lattice beam fell from the ceiling, all sounds faded away, all faded away, and there was no more fear. Only regret was left. Regret for Alexander.”

These images of violence and destruction intensify the narrative atmosphere and stakes. Tatiana is nearly killed while trying to find her brother. As the world crumbles around her, Tatiana’s body gives in but her spirit doesn’t give up. Despite her depleted state, her only thought is of Alexander, which underscores the intensity of their love. Near death, all that she regrets is her inability to be with her love. The moment reiterates the theme of Love’s Enduring Power Amidst Hardship.

“I’ll meet some nice Russian university student who is studying to be an engineer. We’ll get married and go to live with his mother and grandmother in their communal apartment. And then we’ll have a child. Tatiana could not imagine that life. She could not imagine any life except this hospital bed, except this hospital window facing the buildings on Grechesky Prospekt, except eating oatmeal for breakfast and soup for lunch and boiled chicken for dinner.”

While in the hospital, Tatiana tries to imagine a life for herself after the war is over. Despite these imaginings, Tatiana struggles to connect with or believe in a future outside the life she knows in the present. The moment underscores how she has changed over the course of the novel thus far. She cannot escape into childish fantasies. The present is so profound, it limits her perception of her life. The references to the hospital walls and to her monotonous meal schedule also underscore her sense of entrapment in the present.

“Tatiana tried to take a deep breath, but she could not, and she could not calm down. ‘My fault?’ she yelled to her father. ‘It’s your fault! You’re the one who sent Pasha to his death and then sat and did nothing at all to get him back—’ Papa shot up and hit her across the face so hard that she fell sideways to her chair. Alexander shot up and shoved Tatiana’s father away.”

Tatiana’s altercation with her father creates a hostile narrative mood and conveys how much Pasha’s death has disrupted the family’s home life. After losing his son, Georgi blames Tatiana. His rage and violence in this scene underscore his distress, while illustrating how unpredictable Tatiana’s life has become. Even her home is no longer safe. The closing image of Alexander defending her meanwhile captures Alexander’s desire to protect Tatiana from harm, no matter its origin.

“‘Tatiana,’ said Alexander, ‘all the things you’re worried about—they’re gone from my life. Do you know why? Because when I met you, I knew that if I continued and a good girl like you ever asked me about them, I wouldn’t be able to look you in the face and tell you the truth. I would have to look you in the face and lie.’”

This passionate scene of dialogue between Alexander and Tatiana underscores the theme of Love’s Enduring Power Amidst Hardship. Alexander is swearing to Tatiana that he has not been with any other girls since they met and fell in love. He has changed his life for her, trying to remake himself into a man worthy of her love and affection. His love for her has changed him, despite the difficulty of abandoning his old habits.

“Tatiana divided the bread into two piles—one for breakfast, one for dinner—and then divided each of the piles into six portions. She gave Papa the most bread. She gave herself the least.”

The image of Tatiana carefully dividing the food for her family underscores the dire nature of their circumstances. The longer the German blockade in Leningrad goes on, the less food the citizens have and the harder it is for them to survive. Tatiana’s calculations and accounting in this scene convey her attempts to care for her family as meticulously as possible, and that often means giving “herself the least.” Tatiana chooses to put others’ needs before her own, which conveys her sacrificial nature and underscoring The Ways One’s Choices Reveal One’s True Character.

“The emptiness Tatiana felt overpowered her; the sense of guilt, the anchor of responsibility weighed her down. It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t my fault, she kept repeating to herself in the mornings as she cut the bread, put some on her plate, and ate it silently. It would take her maybe thirty seconds to eat her share, and she would pick up all the little crumbs with her forefinger […] All that—thirty seconds.”

In this scene, Tatiana’s internal monologue echoes her physical movements. She is repeating the “it wasn’t my fault” mantra to herself, while eating her food, careful to consume every last crumb. The rote nature of her internal and external activities conveys how trapped Tatiana feels. She is limited by her circumstances and “weighed by her guilt” over Pasha’s death. Language including “emptiness,” “anchor,” “weighed,” and “repeating” underscores the heft of her emotional sorrow and physical depletion.

“There was no longer any denying that what was happening to Leningrad was nothing like what they could have ever imagined. Marina’s mother died. Mariska died. Anton died. The shelling continued. The bombing continued. There were fewer incendiaries falling, and Tatiana knew this because there were fewer fires, and she knew this because […] there were fewer places for her to stand and warm her hands.”

The use of repetition and concision in this passage conveys the relentless, numbing nature of the war. As the conflict wages on, bombings, shells, fires, and death become commonplace. Inhabiting Tatiana’s perspective, the narrator presents these tumultuous events in a rote, unemotional manner, which echoes Tatiana’s state of mind. She is gradually adjusting the reality of her conflict.

“Walk, walk, don’t lift your eyes, Tatiana told herself. Pull that scarf over your face, pull it over your eyes if you have to, just don’t look up, don’t see Leningrad, don’t see your courtyard where the bodies pile up, don’t see the streets where the bodies are laid out on the snow, lift your foot and step over them.”

The use of the second person in this passage creates a disembodied tone and presents Tatiana’s internal monologue as she hears it. Tatiana is telling herself how to navigate the increasingly violent streets of Leningrad without letting the chaos impact her emotionally. She is giving herself instructions for how to survive, essentially telling herself to remain numb to the death and horror around her. She tries to desensitize herself so she might endure.

“On her knees Tatiana pushed Dasha’s body into the ice hole. In the waning light the white sack looked blue. Dasha went in reluctantly, as if unwilling to part with life, and then disappeared. Tatiana continued to kneel on the ice. Eventually she got up and, coughing into her mittens, slowly pulled the empty sled back to shore.”

The image of Tatiana rolling her deceased sister’s body into the hole in the lake creates a melancholy mood. The images of the ice, the “waning light” and “white-blue sack” also recall notions of innocence and purity—implying that Dasha did not deserve her death. This moment also marks the end of Book 1 and incites a turning point in Tatiana’s life. While devastated to leave her sister behind, Dasha’s death creates an organic opening for Tatiana to be with Alexander.

“‘This is war, Alexander,’ Dimitri said. ‘Only the strongest survive. That’s why I finally had to give up on Tania. I didn’t want to, I quite liked her, and I still do; I have fond memories of her, but I had barely enough strength to keep myself going. I couldn’t be worrying about her, too, without food or warm clothes.’”

Dimitri Chernenko’s remarks to Alexander about Tatiana reveal his inauthentic nature. Throughout the novel, he has antagonized Alexander for being too close to Tatiana—insisting he is in love with her and she has given him a reason to live. Here, Dimitri’s remarks about Tatiana render her disposable to him, proving that Dimitri is in fact disingenuous and only worried about himself. His words also contrast with Alexander’s constant concern for Tatiana, underscoring Dimitri’s wicked nature and Alexander’s pure nature.

“‘Tatiana!’ he screamed into her face. ‘I will stand here and be accused of anything, but don’t you dare tell me I didn’t feel enough for you! Don’t even pretend to yourself you can speak that lie and have it come out of your mouth as the truth. Everything I have fucking done with my life since the day I met you was because of how I felt about you, so if you continue to give me your bullshit now, I swear to God—’”

Alexander’s intensity in this scene of dialogue with Tatiana creates a passionate mood, while underscoring his deep feeling for Tatiana. Alexander is demanding that Tatiana recognize his abiding devotion to her. He becomes so upset when she questions his love, because his love for Tatiana has kept him alive throughout the war. His use of expletives underscores his frustration.

“And then there was Dasha. If things were as they were supposed to be, why did Dasha’s death feel so unnatural, why did it seem to break the order of things in the universe? Was Alexander right and Tatiana wrong? Was she to blame, with her misplaced integrity, her inexplicable commitment to her sister? Should Tatiana have let Alexander say to Dasha, I like Tania best. Should Tatiana have said to Dasha from day one, I want him for myself.”

Amidst her and Alexander’s wedding, Tatiana’s mind wanders. Her internal monologue reveals her continued fear of giving into and honoring her own feelings. Throughout the majority of the novel, Tatiana tries to deny her feelings for Alexander to make her sister happy. Months later, Tatiana continues to doubt her decisions and to question her actions. The questions she asks herself convey both her desire to make sense of herself, and her desperation to be good and honest.

“‘I don’t know. A train blew up, no bodies were retrieved. As if the not knowing for certain what had happened to him makes his death somehow less real.’ He stood up, too, and led her deeper into the water. ‘You’re saying you only believe it if you see the people you love die?’”

Tatiana and Alexander’s conversation about Pasha’s death foreshadows Alexander’s uncertain death at the end of the novel. Tatiana is admitting that she has never fully believed that her twin brother died in the train bombing. The same is true when Tatiana hears of Alexander’s death in a truck bombing in Part 4. Because she doesn’t see his body, she holds out hope that he is alive. Her healthy delusion helps her to maintain hope amidst despair.

“‘So you returned to the Soviet Union with Stepanov’s son, thinking you would have another chance to run. What did you have to do, Shura?’ she asked. ‘Promise Dimitri that if you didn’t die, one way or another you would get him to America?’”

Tatiana comes to better understand Alexander and his historical relationship with Dimitri when Alexander tells her about their shared past. Here, Tatiana is identifying exactly what happened between Alexander and Dimitri—events which have defined their relationship for many years. Her words also foreshadow Dimitri’s insistence on coming with Alexander and Tatiana to America at the novel’s end.

“How did Dimitri think it could have worked out for him and anyone, but especially for him and Tatiana, when he could not look for a second beyond himself into anyone else’s life or heart? Tatiana didn’t care that he didn’t ask after her family. What she wanted was for him not to pretend to her, as if she didn’t know the truth.”

Tatiana’s encounter with Dimitri at her Leningrad apartment underscores Dimitri’s wicked nature, while augmenting the narrative tension. Tatiana is trying to make sense of what Dimitri wants and who he really is. His aggression paired with his disinterest in her life magnifies his selfishness. Meanwhile, this passage foreshadows Dimitri’s continued hold over Tatiana and Alexander. He continues to threaten their peace until the novel’s end.

“‘Tania, when I found you, I felt for that hour or two we were together—before Dimitri, before Dasha—that somehow I was going to right my life.’ Alexander smiled bitterly. ‘I had a sense of hope and destiny that I can neither explain nor understand.’ He wasn’t smiling anymore. ‘Then our Soviet life interfered. You saw, I tried to stay away.’”

Alexander’s raw profession of love reiterates the theme of Love’s Enduring Power Amidst Hardship. Alexander is revealing Tatiana’s impact on him from the moment they met. He uses diction like “hope” and “destiny” to convey the fated nature of their connection. Although the characters’ “Soviet life interfered” in their relationship, the two remain connected—proving that their love can withstand impossible hardship.

“She would come, every day, many times a day, and sit by him, and whisper. ‘Shura, in Helsinki, we can take a sleigh ride, a drozhki ride. Wouldn’t that be something? And we could actually go to a real church! Dr. Sayers told me Helsinki’s Emperor Nicholas church looks a lot like St. Isaac’s. Shura, are you listening?’”

Tatiana’s musings on the future infuse the narrative with a sense of hope and possibility. Alexander is still recovering in the field hospital, but Tatiana does not let his injuries dampen his spirits. She imagines these scenes together with Alexander to encourage and hearten him. With their escape plan in place, the future suddenly becomes more tangible to Tatiana and Alexander.

“He is exactly what he wants to be. How can he be redeemed when he has constructed his life on what he believes is the only way to live it? Not your way, not my way, his way. He has built himself on lies and deceit, on manipulation and malice, on contempt for me and disrespect for you.”

Alexander’s rant about Dimitri reiterates the ways one’s choices reveal one’s true character throughout the novel. Alexander is furious with Dimitri for trying to interfere in his and Tatiana’s plans. Dimitri’s antagonistic nature reiterates his wicked nature and threatens Alexander and Tatiana’s future safety. Diction including “deceit,” “manipulation,” “malice,” and “contempt” creates an acerbic tone which echoes Alexander’s state of mind.